airlines logo This is presently a working database on which to expand into a comprehensive, representative reference base of both the famous and obscure commercial air transports and their paths that have led to the multi- billion industry of today. We welcome essential and knowledgeable input from our viewers. (Ignore red temporary notes to ourselves as we verify data.)

Updated 9/21/08
Airlines N to Z     >>>

AAA Airlines
c.1980: no data. Became Mid-Continent Airlines.

AAI, Alaska Aeronautical Industries see Alaska Aeronautical, MarkAir.
AAXICO Airlines
1946: American Air Export & Import Co, Miami Beach FL. 1965: Airline ops acquired by Saturn Airlines; AAXICO nominally continued as an aircraft products supplier.
ABC Airlines
c.1965: no data.
Academy Airlines
19??: Griffin GA. Cargo; also supplemental carrier for FedEx.
Access Air
1998: (pres: Roger Ferguson) Des Moines IA. 2000: (pres: John Ruan III). 2001: Ended ops. Routes to LAX, NYC, Colorado Springs.
Action Airlines
c.1990: Atlantic City NJ (? possibly).
Aeroamerica
1974: Seattle WA. Charter.
Aero Aviation
19??: Aero Aviation Centre Ltd, Edmonton Alberta (charter, flight school).
Aero Coach Aviation International
1982: Aero Finance Corp, Ft Lauderdale FL?.
Aero Commuter
1967: Long Beach CA. 1969: Acquired by Golden West Airlines.
Aero Corp of California
1928: Aero Corp Field, Los Angeles Mesa, W Los Angeles CA (fdrs: Jack Frye, Paul Richter). Holding company for Standard Airlines Inc, Fokker, Western Air Express. Foundation of eventual TWA.s
Aero-Dyne Airlines
1965: Renton WA. Charter.
Aero Limited
1919: no data.
 
Aeromarine West Indies Airways
11/1/20: Div of Aeromarine Aeroplane Co, Key West FL. Service first to Havana, the first international airline in the USA, later added Miami and Bermuda; also became the first-ever USPO contract air mail service. Carried 30,000 passengers at 11 persons per flight in its Curtiss flying boats, operating safely and efficiently, but never made a profit. 1921: Acquired Florida West Indies Airways to become Aeromarine Airways Inc. Routes expanded in NY and FL to service local areas. 1922: Cleveland and Dertroit routes added. 1924: Ended ops. Also instituted other airline firsts including pilot training, maintenance programs, seasonal rotation of equipment, in-flight movie (disputed), baggage labels, and airline ticket agency. Link of interest.
Aeromech Airlines
1951: Aeromech, Clarksburg WV (air taxi). 1971: Aeromech Airlines. 1983: Merged with Wright Airlines.
Aerosun International Airlines
1978: Red Carpet Airlines, Clearwater FL. 1981: Became Aerosun Intl Airlines. 1982: Ended ops.
Aero Taxi Rockford
19??: Rockford IL. Cargo.
Aero Union Corp
1990: no data.
Air 21
c.1995: Fresno CA.
Air Alliance
1986: Québec. 1999: Merged with Air Nova as a subsidiary of Air Canada.
Air Alma
19??: Metropolitan Air Services Ltd, Alma Québec. 1960: Alma Air Service. 1972: Air Alma.
Air Alpha
1991: Cincinnati OH; service to Cleveland and Detroit MI.
Air America Airlines
1989: no data. 1990: Ended ops.
Air Amos
1964: Amos Québec.
Air Atlanta
1979: Atlanta GA (fdrs: Michael Hollis, Daniel Kolber). Memphis-Atlanta-New York, later Miami and Philadelphia. Ended ops 4/2/87.
    = Boeing B727s.
AirAtlantic Airlines
1979: Philadelphia PA. Serving Penn State University.
Air Atonabee
1971: Atonabee Airways, Peterborough Ontario. 1979: Air Atonabee Ltd.
Air Bahia
8/19/79: Los Angeles, Connected El Centro, San Diego, Baja California. Ennded ops 12/14/80
Air Bama
19879: Montgomery AL, Connected Nashville, Muscle Shoals.
Air BC
1980: Richmond BC. Formed from mergers of Canadian Air Transit, Gulf Air Aviation, Haida Airlines, Island Airlines, Omnineca Air Services, Pacific Coastal Airlines, Trans Provincial Airlines, and West Coast Air.
Airborne Express
1946: Founded as Airborne Flower Traffic Assn, Seattle WA, to fly flowers from HI. 1980: Renamed ABX Air Inc dba Airborne Express, Wilmington OH. Cargo initally, passenger service added with growth. 1988: Acquired Sky Courier freight line (aka DHL SameDay). 8/14/03: Acquired by DHL (Brussels, Belgium). Was the first airline in history to own and operate an airport on purchasing the surplus Clinton County AFB.
Airborne Transport
 
Air California / AirCal
1967: Santa Ana CA; sevice to SFO. 1976: Reorganized as Westgate-California Corp. 1981: Renamed AirCal. 1987: Acquired by American Airlines.
Air Canada
1937: Trans Canada Airlines, Montreal Québec. 1964: Air Canada. Apr 2003: Filed for bankruptcy, but continued operations with an employee wage agreement and some operating funds. Sep 2004: Restructuring with reduction in tech and support facilities, streamlining of operations, and funding by several investment groups as Air Canada holding company.
Air Cargo Carriers
Milwaukee, WI.
Air Cargo Masters
Sioux Falls SD. Cargo.
Air Caribbean
1977: St Thomas PR.
Air Carolina
c.1975: no data.
Air Central
1978: Harlingen TX. 1979: Ended ops.
Air Chaparral
1980: Reno NV; intrastate routes. 1982: Ended ops.
Air Chico
1980: Chico CA. 1982: Ended ops.
Air Cortez
1977 (>1982): Ontario CA; served San Diego, Grand Canyon, Baja California. Ended ops in 1986.
Air Commuter Airlines
1967: Cleveland OH. 1968: Merged with Wright Air Lines.
Air-Dale
c.1980: Sault St Marie Ontario. Charter.
Air East Airlines
c.1970: Lafayette LA; connected New Orleans.
Air Express
1932: Air Express Corp (pres: Philip H Philbin), Denver CO. Coast-to-coast air cargo. Lockheed Orions from Pittsburgh Airways and Vegas from Midland Air Express.
Air Ferries
1930: Joseph J "Buster" Tynan Jr dba Air Ferries Ltd, San Francisco CA; maintenance at Oakland Airport. 1932: Purchased by Varney Speed Lines/Lanes, and Oakland terminal moved to San Francisco Bay Airdrome in Alameda. 1933: Ended ops. Originally connected Oakland and San Francisco bayside terminals for $1.50 one-way passage for 18-minute trip in six-passenger Loening Air Yachts.
Air Florida
1972: Miami FL as intrastate carrier. 1978: Certified after deregulation (pres: Edward C Acker, former Braniff president). 4/3/84: Bankruptcy; assets acquired late-1984 by Midwest Express. Initially regional East Coast seaboard, then expanded to Midwest. Became International in 1980 with flights to various Caribbean and Latin American destinations and, for a while, to Amsterdam, Brussels, London, Madrid, and Shannon. @ Boeing B727-200, 737-100 and -200, Douglas DC-9-15F, DC-10-30.
Air Florida Commuter
1984: Established by Air Florida as feeder lines from Florida and the Bahamas to Miami hub. Sub-contracted carriers: Air Miami, Airways Intl, Atlantic Gulf, Finair Express, Florida Airlines, Florida Airmotive, Gull Air, Key Airlines, Mackey Intl, Marco Island Airways, National Commuter, Ocean Reef Airways, Pompano Airways, Provo Flying Service, Skyway Commuter, and Slocum Air. @ Beech 99, CASA C-212, Convair 580, et al.
Air Gemini see Gemini Airlines.
Air General
1967: no data.
Airgo
Air Grand Canyon
10/31/81: Grand Canyon Airport AZ. Charter, scenic flights (fixed-wing). @ Began with one Cessna 207, expanded to about a dozen aircraft, including Cessna 182s and T207s.
Air Hawaii
1977: Formed in merger with Air Molokai; fdr: Michael Hartley (SEE ALSO Hawaii Express 1982-84). 11/22/85: Began service to West Coast US. 1980: Acquired OK Air. 2/19/86: ended ops/
Air Hemet
1964 (1984?): Hemet CA. Connected desert cities and Colorado River areas with Los Angeles and Ontario CA.
Air Hyannis
1980: Hyannis connections to Boston and Nantucket.
Air Idaho
c.1974: no data.
Air Illinois
1970: Chicago IL; served Alton, Springfield, Carbondale, St Louis.
Air Indies
1971: St Thomas PR. Interisland service.
Air Inuit
1978: Ft Chimo Québec.
Air Irvine
1981: Santa Ana CA.
Air Kentucky
1974: Owensboro KY. 1980: Contract carrier for Allegheny Commuter System. 1989: Ended ops.
Air LA
1982: Greater Pacific Airways, Los Angeles CA. 1988: Air LA. 1990: Merged with Air Resorts Airlines, in 1990 but operated separately. 1991: Ended ops.
Air Labrador see Labrador Airways
Air-Lift Commuter
1980: Air-Lift Intl, Morrisville or Raleigh-Durham NC.
Airlift International
1946: Miami FL, on acquisition of Riddle Airlines. Cargo and passenger ops. 1981: Ended ops.
Air Lincoln
19??: Ft Collins Flying Service, Ft Collins CO. 1982: Air Lincoln, Chicago IL. 1982: Ended ops.
Air Link Airlines
1977: Ft Collins-Denver CO. Was Valley Airpark Commuter Service.
Air Link Airways
c.1983: Houston TX. Helicopter service.
Airline Transportation
1923: Airline Transportation Co, Los Angeles (perhaps Glendale Airport) CA. Advertised as servicing Imperial Valley with a large two-motor cabin biplane built by Rogers Co (SEE Pacific Hawk), but actual operation of the company, if any and for how long, is unknown.
Air Link
1982: Air Link, Chicago IL.
Air Miami
c.1984: Subcontract carrier for Air Florida Commuter.
Air Michigan
1969: Kalamazoo MI. 1972: Ended ops.
Air Midwest
1965: Aviation Services Inc, Wichita KS. 1983: Air Midwest Inc. 1991: Acquired by Mesa Airlines.
Air Missouri
c.1975: no data, possible Kirksville MO base. Was Horizon Airways.
Air Molokai-Tropic Airlines
c.1985: Oahu HI. 1988 = Became Air Molokai.
Air Montreal
19??: no data.
Air Nevada
19??: Las Vegas NV. 1970: Ended ops.
Air Nevada
1978: Las Vegas NV (unrelated to the previous entry).
Air New England
1970: East Boston MA. 10/31/81: Ended ops. With deregulation and code-sharing in place, it was the last of the stand-alone US commuter airlines.
Air New Orleans
1981: New Orleans LA and Panama City FL. 6/17/88: Ended ops.
Air Niagara Express
1978: Niagara Falls NY. 1980: Boeing 727 service to Newark NJ. 19??: Alberta Ontario and Ft Lauderdale FL (charter). 1984: Ended ops.
Air North
1963: Burlington VT. 1970: Contract carrier for Allegheny Commuter System. 1979: Returned to independent ops. 1983: Acquired by Brockway Air.
Air North
1977: Yukon Air Service dba Air North, formed from Northern Airlines, Fairbanks AK. 1984: Ended ops. 19??: Operations reactivated; Beech 99 and Hawker-Siddeley 748.
Air Nova
1986: Enfield NS Canada. 1999: Merged with Air Alliance as a subsidiary of Air Canada.
Air O'Hare
19??: Chicago IL.
Air One
1984(?): Air One Airlines, St Louis MO. 1984: Ended ops.
    = Boeing 727s.
Air Ontario
1961: Great Lakes Airlines, London Ontario. 1981: Air Ontario.
Air Oregon
1978: Portland OR. 19??: Acquired by Horizon Air.
AirPac
c.1986: Seattle WA. Connected Alaska areas.
Air Pacific
c.1978: Eureka Aero, Eureka CA. c.1979: Air Pacific. Serving CA cities.
Air Pennsylvania
1980: Reading PA. 1982: Ended ops.
Air Saguenay
1981: Chicoutimi Québec. Charter.
Air San Juan
c.1990: San Juan PR.
Air Satellite
1968: Québec.
Air Schefferville
1981: Schefferville Québec.
Air Sierra
c.1980: Fresno CA. Connected Lake Tahoe, Bishop, Mammoth Lakes.
Air South
1968: Nationwide Airlines Southeast, St Simons Island GA. 1972: Air South, Atlanta GA. 1975: Merged with Florida Airlines as Florida Airlines-Air South (Atlanta).
Air South
1994: Columbia SC. Low-cost high-frequency/short-haul operation initially served smaller southeast airports from Miami to Baltimore. 8/28/97: Bankruptcy ended ops.
Air Southwest
1967: Dallas TX. 1971: Renamed Southwest Airlines.
Air-Speed
1974: Suburban Air Commuter Service, Bedford MA. Service to Boston, Newark, Philadelphia, White Plains. 19??: Ended ops.
Airspur Airlines
1982: Los Angeles CA. 1982: Ended ops.
Air Sunshine
1951: American Air Taxi, Key West FL. 1972: Became Air Sunshine, Ft Lauderdale FL.
Air Tahoma
San Diego CA. Cargo.
Air Texas
1968: Ft Worth TX. 1970: Ended ops.
Air Train
19??: no data.
AirTran Airways
10/26/93: Conquest Sun Airlines. 1994: Renamed Airtran, Atlanta GA, Orlando FL. 1997: Merger with Valujet. 2002-04: Regional jet subsidiary as AirTran JetConnect in league with Air Wisconsin. @ DC-9, 717-200, 737-700.
Air Transat
c.1988: Div of Transat A.T. Inc, Montreal-Mirabel, Canada. Global charter and cargo operations. @ Lockheed L-1011-100 and -500, Boeing 757-200, Airbus A310-300 and A330-300 (2002).
Airtransit
c.1963: Albuquerque NM (? possible), connected Phoenix AZ.
Air Transport Carriers
1946: 1949?: Charles & Edna Sherman dba Air Transport Carriers, Burbank CA. 1953: reorganized as a Nevada corporation. 1953: bankruptcy. cf: California Central Airlines
Air Transport International
19??: Little Rock AR. Cargo.
Air Travel
Air US
1977: Denver CO.
AirVantage Airlines
c.1993: no data.
Air Vectors
1979: Air Vectors Airways, Newburgh NY. Also contract carrier for FedEx.
Air Vegas
1971: Henderson and Las Vegas NV. Grand Canyon service. 9/30/04: Ended ops. @ 9 Beech C99s.
Air Vermont
1981: Stowe VT. 1984: Ended ops.
Airvia
1929: Airvia Transportation Co, NYC and Boston. Savoia-Marchetti flying boat(s).
Air Virginia
1979: Lynchburg VA.
Airways International
1985: Miami Springs FL. Subcontract carrier for Air Florida Commuter.
Airways of New Mexico
c.1984: Albuquerque NM (? possibly). Connected NM points and El Paso, Tucson.
Air West SEE Hughes Air West
Air Wisconsin / United Express
1965: Appleton WI. 1985: Merged with Mississippi Valley Airlines. 1980: Acquired Aspen Airways. 1991: Acquired by United Express (UAL). 1993: Purchased by CJT Holdings Inc and restructured as Air Wisconsin Airlines Corp. 1998: Acquired Mountain Air Express.
Alaska Aeronautical
1954: Alaska Aeronautical Industries, Anchorage AK.
Alaska Air Express
1932: Seattle WA. 1936: Ended perations.
Alaska Airlines
1932: (Mac) McGee Airways, Anchorage AK. 1934: Merged with Star Air Service. 1937: Renamed Star Airlines. 1942: Became Alaska Star Airlines. 1944: Alaska Airlines, on acquisition of Livery Airways, Mirow Air Service, and Pollack Flying Service. 1946: Moved to Seattle WA. 1968: Absorbed Alaska-Coastal and Cordova Airlines. 1986: Acquired Jet America. @ First over-the-Pole commercial flights (1951).
Alaska Air Transport
1936: Possibly from (Wilbur) Irving Airways, Juneau AK. 1942: Acquired by Alaska-Coastal Airlines.
Alaska-Coastal Airlines
c.1942: Juneau AK on acquisition of Alaska Air Transport. 1968: Aquired by Alaska Airlines.
Alaska International Airlines SEE MarkAir
Alaska Star Airlines SEE Star Airlines
Alaska-Washington Airline
4/15/1929: (pres: Joseph L Carman Jr) Seattle WA. 1932: Receivership after disastrous fires and flood. Served Washington, British Columbia, and Alaska sites with 2 Fairchild 71s, 7 Lockheed Vegas, and a Stinson Detroiter, most on floats. Seattle to Juneau (fare $105) in only 7h:48m challenged steamship travel of more than three days for the same route.
Alaskan Southern Airways
1933: Seattle WA. 1934: Ended ops.
Albany Air
c.1977: Albany NY, commuter to NYC and White Plains.
Albany Airways
1950: Albany GA. Lightplane feeder service using Beech Bonanzas.
Alector Airways
c.1975: Stewart Airport, Newburgh NY; charter and cargo.
Aleutian Airways SEE Reeve
All-American Airways SEE Allegheny Airlines
Allegheny Airlines
1937 (>1939): All-American Aviation Co Inc (fdrs: Alexis F and Richard C du Pont, Pittsburgh PA), air mail ops. 1939: Passenger operations as All-American Airways. 1952: Renamed Allegheny Airlines, Washington DC; Alleghany Commuter Service as a contract division (SEE Chautauqua Airlines). 1968: Acquired Lake Central Airlines. 1972: Acquired Mohawk Airlines. 1979: Became usAir (visually changed to USAir in 1989), and in 1987 the Commuter fleet included Air Kentucky, Chautauqua Airlines, Crown Airways, Pennsylvania Airlines, Pocono Airlines, Southern Jersey Airways, and Suburban Airlines. 19??: Middletown PA. 1988: Acquired Pacific Southwest Airlines. 1989: Acquired Piedmont Airlines. 1995: Renamed US Airways. 1998: Acquired USAir Shuttle (Trump Shuttle).
Allen Air Commuter
1971: Allen Air Park, Topeka KS. Air taxi to Kansas City MO, Lawrence and Emporia KS.
Alliance Airlines
1984: Kenosha WI. 1989: Acquired by Great Lakes Airlines.
Aloha Airlines
1946: Trans-Pacific Airlines, Honolulu HI. 1946: TPA Aloha Airline. 1958: Aloha Airlines. c.1984: Aloha Pacific Airlines. 4/1/06: Ended operations. Connected Marshall Islands, West Coast of California, and Las Vegas, replacing fleet of Boeing 737-200 with new-generation 737-700s.
Alpha Air
c.1988: Los Angeles; service to CA ski resorts, Grand Canyon, SFO.
Alpha Airlines
c.1969: South Bend IN.
Altair
1965: Frederick OK.
Altair Airlines
1967: Philadelhia PA.
Altus Airlines
c.1985: Altus OK.
Ambassador Airlines
c.1967: Las Vegas NV. Charter, Grand Canyon scenic flights. Scheduled passenger service to Bakersfield and Southern CA cities.
AmericAir
c.1980: Dulles Intl, Washington DC. Service to Baltimore and Richmond.
American Air SEE AAXICO.
American Airways and American Airlines
1930: American Airways, New York NY. Operating transport subsidiaries—Colonial Air Transport (separate from 1942 Colonial Airlines), Embry-Riddle, Interstate Airways, Martz Air Lines, Robertson Airlines, Southern Air Transport, and Universal Aviation came directly under control of American Airways, except Embry-Riddle. American Airways was then controlled by Aviation Corporation (AVCO), but eventually all subsidiary companies were dissolved, leaving AVCO the sole owner. Divisions and bases of American were Universal at St Louis, Colonial at Newark, Southern at Fort Worth, and AVCO as the main holding company in New York. Fredrick Coburn was appointed president of American Airways and began to simplify routes and operations—its routes at that time went no further west than El Paso. Many subdivisions (flying schools, aircraft sales, air taxis, etc) were dissolved when it was thought that those would not be good sources of revenue. 1932: Acquired Century Airlines. 1934: Reorganized as American Airlines. 1971: Merged with Trans-Caribbean Airways Inc. 1975: Trade agreement with PAA for Caribbean routes. Apr 2001: Took over TWA. First to offer non-stop transcontinental commercial service (1953). Subsidiaries (data: 1980): AA Development Co, AA Energy Corp, AA Training Corp, Americana Hotels, Flagship Inn, Sky Chefs.
American Central Airlines
1980: Dubuque IA. 1985: Ended ops.
American Eagle
12/1/84: From Chaparral Airlines, Dallas TX. 1986: Acquired Command Airways. 1988: Became regional subsidiary of American Airlines. 1990: Merged with Metroflight.
American Eagle Airlines
3/x/80: Information needed. Based in Maryland. Charter flights to Frankfurt (Germany), Las Vegas, Bermuda. Ended ops 4/x/81. Leased Boeing 707-321Bs [N402PA, N404PA, N408PA].
American Export Airlines
1937: American Export Lines (shipping), New York NY. 11/x/45: Became American Overseas Airline. 1950: Acquired by PanAm.
American Express International Airlines
c.1984: New York NY.
American Flyers
1949: American Flyers School of Aviation (fdr: Reed & Virginia Pigman), Dallas TX. 19??: American Flyers Airline Corp. 5/25/71: Acquired by Universal Airlines, which was in turn taken over by Saturn Airlines. @ Initially DC-3, then 18 Lockheed Constellation and L188 Electra, later 707, 727, DC-8.
American International Airways
1981: no data.
    = "Gamblers Express" charters.
American Overseas Airlines (AOA) see American Export Airlines
American Trans-Air / ATA Connection
1981: American Trans-Air Airlines, Indianapolis IN (charter). c.1999: Acquired Chicago Express Airlines. c.19??: Feeder routes as ATA Connection.
America West Airlines.
9/1/83: Tempe AZ (fdr: Ed Beauvais). 1994: Partnered with Continental Airlines and Mesa Airlines. 9/26/05: Merged with US Airways and the name American West was gradually phased out\.
Amerijet International
c.1990: Amerijet Intl Inc, Ft Lauderdale FL. Cargo.
Amphibian Air Transport
Ananda Air
c.1978: Maui Commuter, island service.
Apache Airlines
c.1960: Tucson and AZ points. Twin Beech.
Appalachian Airlines
c.1977: no data, possibly Charleston WV base.
Angeles Flying Services
c.1966: Port Angeles WA. Served Sea-Tac and Boeing Field.
Antilles Airboats
c.1968: Virgin Islands, interisland commuter.
Apache Airways
c.1929: Tucson, Phoenix and Miami AZ.
Handley-Page 137 Mk 1 (William T Larkins)
Apollo Airways
1969: Santa Barbara CA. 1975: First commuter flights. 1982: Name change to Pacific Coast Airlines.
Appalachian Airlines
1977: Appalachian Flying Service. Commuter service; no data. 1980: Ended ops.
Arcata Flying Services
c.1983: Arcata CA. Served Oakland and Redding CA, Portland OR.
Arctic Circle Air
c.1947: Fairbanks AK. Intrastate passenger and cargo.
Arctic Pacific
Argonaut Airways
Arizona Airways
1928: Phoenix AZ. c.1941: Ended ops. Passenger and cargo operations also included an aerial circus and exhibitions in their business envelope. License cancelled by Arizona Corporation Commission in 1942 for failure to pay fees from 1939-41.
Arizona Airways
9/x/42: Arizona Airways Flight School (fdr: H O "Rocky" Nelson), Phoenix AZ. 9/17/45: Began passenger air line operation. Jan 1948: CAB certificate as a mail carrier PHX-ELP. 6/1/50: Merged with Challenger and Monarch Airlines.
Arizona Airways, Airways Express
6/x/92: Tucson AZ. 8/x/95: Merged with Great Lakes Airlines as Arizona Airways Express.
Arizona Pacific Airlines
19??: Omni Airlines, Flagstaff AZ. 1981: Arizona Pacific Airlines, Las Vegas NV. 1981: Ended ops.
Arkansas Traveler Airline
1978: Mountain Home AR. 1984: Ended ops.
Armadillo Airways
c.1980: DFW, Dallas Tx; helicopter air taxi to Ft Worth, Addison, Plano.
Aroostook Airways
c.1970: Presque Isle ME. Commuter service to Bangor and Boston; ambulance, charter.
Arrow Air
1947: White Plains NY. Corporate charter. c.1950: Suspended ops. 1981: Revived as scheduled service and worldwide charter. 19??: Cargo center, Miami FL. 19??: Merged with Fine Air Services.
Arrow Airways Arrowhead International Airlines
1929: Duluth MN. 1930: Merged with Canadian-American Airlines.
ASA International Airlines
c.1958: no data.
ASI, Aviation Services
c.1975: Reno NV; commuter and cargo service to NV towns, SFO and Oakland CA.
 
Aspen Airways
1953: Denver CO (fdr: Walter Paepske), air taxi to Aspen CO. 1963: Purchased by J W Ringsby. 1966: Scheduled service to New Mexico, Arizona, Kansas, Utah, and charter services to California. 1986: Partnered with United Airlines. 1989: Sale of the privately-owned airline marked the beginning of the end; new owners sold part of Aspen's operation to Mesa Airlines in 1990 and, soon after, jet operations and facilities at Aspen Airport went to Air Wisconsin/United Express (UAL). Mid-1991: Aspen Airways merged into Air Wisconsin.
Aspen Mountain Air / Lone Star Airlines
c.1997: no data.
Associated Air Transport
Associated Airways Possibly same as previous.
Astec Air East
c.1980: Albany NY.
Atlanta Express Airline
1982: Hilton Head Island SC. Flew DH Dash 7s nonstop between Hilton Head Island Airport and Hartsfield in Atlanta. The operation was run by Sunbird Airlines management. Sunbird took over the route when Atlanta Express closed, replacing it with their Beech C-99s, Cessna 402s and Titans. We flew nonstop from HHH to ATL and CLT with connections to other Sunbird cities in SC, NC, and VA. (Data: Jim Phillips 1/21/01)
Atlantair
1981: Moncton New Brunswick.
Atlantic Air
c.1982: Bridgeport CT. New England routes. c.1985: Became Business Express.
Atlantic Airways
1960: Portland ME.
Atlantic & Pacific Airlines
Atlantic Central Airlines
Atlantic Gulf Airlines
c.1983: Subcontract carrier for Air Florida Commuter.
Atlantic Coast Airlines / United Express
12/15/89: Atlantic Coast airlines div of WestAir (United Express carrier). 1991: Acquired by Atlantic Coast Airlines Holdings Inc, Dulles VA. Affiliation: UAL. 11/19/03: Renamed Independence Air. 1/5/06: Ended ops.
Atlantic North Airlines
3/x/83: Laconia NH. Formed upon acquisition of SkyMaster Airlines; served MA, NH, NJ, VA. 8/x/93: Ended ops.
Atlantic Southeast Airlines
1979: Atlanta GA. Affiliation: Delta Air Lines.
Atlantis Airlines
1979: Florence SC.
Atlas Air
1992: (pres: Michael A Chowdry) Purchase NY. Cargo.
Atlas Airlines
c.1975: Muncie IN; connected Cincinnati, Dayton, Ft Wayne.
Austin Airways
1934: Timmons Ontario. Canada's oldest continuously operating airline.
AvAir / American Eagle
c.1987: American Eagle Airlines,. 1988: Became Nashville Eagle Airlines, Nashville TN.
Avalon Air Transport
1940: Catalina Air Transport, Long Beach CA. 1953: Avalon Air Transport. 1963: Catalina Airlines.
Aviation Enterprises
1944: Aviation Enterprises Inc, TX. 1947: Acquired by Trans-Texas Airways
AvAtlantic
c.1990: no data.
Air Virginia
1979: Lynchburg VA.
Bader Express
c. 1985: Atlantic City NJ.
Balsam's Air Service
1922: no data.
Bankair Commuter
1973: Greenville SC.
Bar Harbor Airlines
1982: Bar Harbor ME. Charter. 1965: Scheduled service. 1980: Acquired Downeast Airlines. 1991: Ended ops.
Barnes & Gorst SEE Gorst Air Transport
BAS Airlines
1979: Beaver Falls PA. 1990: Ended ops.
BAX Canada
19??: No data. Global f reight service.
  Grumman G-21A
Bar Harbor Airways Airlines
19??: Bar Harbor Airways (fdrs: Joseph & Thomas Caruso) Bar Harbor ME. Scenic flights, charter. 1971: Establishe Airlines linking Quebec City, Canada. 1987: Half-interest purchased by Texas Air Corp to use planes as commuters for Continental Airlines and Eastern Express with extended routes, and in 1991 the named ceased to exist.
Bay Cities Air Transport
Bay Valley Air Service
c.1947: San Francisco CA. Service to Sacramento
    = 2 Grumman G-21As (ex-JRF-6Bs).
Bearskin Airlines
4/17/63: Bearskin Lake Air Service, Thunder Bay and Sioux Lookout, Ontario Canada dba Bearskin Airlines (fdr: Otto Heglund). Serviced areas of Northern Ontario and Manitoba.
Bernard Airlines
c.1930: Youngstown OH. Stinson SM-1.
  Waterman-Boeing C
Big Bear Airline
1924: Ontario Aircraft Corp, Ontario CA dba Big Bear Airline (J R Pollock, Waldo Waterman). 19??: Ended ops.
    = Connected Ontario with Big Bear Lake. 6 modified Boeing C floatplanes, later converted to wheels, and a Packard-LePage LUSAC 11.
Big Island Air
1985: Kona HI. 1989: Reverted to charter service.
Big Sky Airlines
1978: Billings MT. 1985: Became part of Northwest Airlink. 1990: Filed for bankruptcy protection. 1991: Renamed Big Sky Airways dba Big Sky Airlines, flew eastern MT and western ND routes. 9/26/02: Acquired by Mesaba Airlines. When Horizon Air began non-stop service to Seattle and Portland and dropped its routes from Spokane into MT, BSA again began service to the western half of MT. Coincidentally, the only city that hadn't been picked up again was Bozeman—it was only serviced non-stop from Billings when it served as Northwest Airlink. (Data: David Chesterman 12/17/02)
Bird Airways
194?: CA.
  Douglas DC-3 or C-47
Bixby Airlines
19??: Long Beach CA. No data.
Bluebird Air Line
1920: D D France dba Bluebird Aviation Co, Los Angeles CA.
    = Schedules to Ontario and Bear Valley (Big Bear Lake) using Standard J-1s.
Bluegrass Airlines
c.1945: One of the first post-war intrastate lines; operated between Louisville, Bowling Green, Lexington, Ashland, Owensboro, Madisonville, and Paducah KY. Ended ops in late 1946—opinions differ. (Data: Jerry Marlette 8/23/00)
Boeing Air Transport aka The Boeing System
1927: (William) Boeing Air Transport Inc, Seattle WA (CAM-18). 1927: Acquired Pacific Air Transport. 1930: Div of United Aircraft & Transport Corp; later United Airlines.
Bollam Air Transport
1929: (Richard E) Bollam Air Transport Co, Portland OR.
    = Daily schedules to Alameda CA and Seattle WA.
Bonanza Air Lines
1945: Edmund Converse, flight school and charter service, Phoenix AZ. 1946: Moved to Las Vegas NV. 1949: Bonanza Air Lines. 7/1/68: Merged with Pacific Air Lines and West Coast Air Lines as Hughes Air West.
Boreal Airways
19??: Montreal Québec. 1947: Merged with Mont Laurier Aviation as Nordair.
Airways
c.1938: Boston & Maine Airways,. 19??: Absorbed by Northeast Airlines.
Boston-Maine Airways
c.1931: Boston-Maine Airways Inc jointly with Central Vermont Airways Inc (both pres: Paul Collins, vp: Amelia Earhart). 1940: Merged with National Airways Inc/National Airlines to form Northeast Airlines.
Bowen Air Lines
1931: (Temple) Bowen Air Lines, Fort Worth TX. 1935: Ended ops, planes sold to AAL (Vultee V1 [NC14248, NC14253]).
Braniff International
1927: (Paul R) Braniff Air Lines, Oklahoma City OK, dba Oklahoma City to Tulsa Airways. 1929: Became subsidiary of Universal Aviation Corp. 1929: Acquired Central Airlines (Wichita KS). 1930: Became Braniff Airways. 1941: Relocated to Dallas TX. 1952: Acquired Mid-Continent Airlines. 1952: Braniff International Airways. 1967: Acquired PANAGRA. 5/12/82: Ended ops in bankruptcy. Initial route was between Oklahoma City and Tulsa, then expanded to Kansas City MO. Concorde SST trials in 1979-80 between Dallas and Washington DC proved financially infeasible.
Bristol Bay Airlines
19??: Dillingham AK (pres: Robert D Fenno 1956).
British Columbia Airlines
19??: no data. 1970: Acquired by Pacific Western Airlines.
Britt Airways, Britt Shuttle
1956: Danville IL. c.1983: Chicago O'Hare; promoted "23 destinations in the Midwest."
Brockway Air
10/1/84: Brockway Glass Co, Brockway PA, owner of Crown Airways (Allegheny Commuter), on acquisition of Air North and Clinton Aero, a local charter service. Was Northern Airways, then Air North. 1986: Became Piedmont Commuter affiliate. 1986: With Piedmont, became merged into USAir.
Brower Air Service
c.1930: Omaha NB and Wichita KS using Curtiss Robins.
Buckleys Speedlanes
1917-c1943: Wichita KS. Both Varney AL and Buckleys AL were owned by two brothers-in-law, and both were sold to a third brother-in-law, the son of [William] Boeing. Varney's was the first airmail in Wichita in 1917—he applied as a "dray driver" but used a Swallow biplane. Buckleys' was the first open-cockpit plane to cross the Continental Divide, but he crashed two miles from Boise because of a magnet left on the instrument panel, tore the wings off and walked to town, where he collapsed from hyper-cold and lack of oxygen. Mr Buckleys later sold his pilot school and opened a carrier service as Buckleys Speedlanes. (Data: Ann Varney, a grand niece 12/28/05).
Buffalo Air Express
19??: Yellowknife NT, Canada. No data.
Buffalo Airways
c.1984: Buffalo NY. Cargo.
Bulldog Airlines
c.1992: no data.
Burke Air Transport
Business Express
1981: Billings MT. 1989: Acquired Mall Airways. 19??: Acquired Pilgrim Airlines.
Business Express Airlines
1982: Atlantic Air, Bridgeport CT, later Dover MA. 1985: Name changed to Business Express. 1986: Became part of Delta Connection. 1998: Acquired by American Eagle. New England routes and NYC.
Cable Commuter
1967: no data. 1969: Acquired by Golden West Airlines.
California Aero Transport
c.1930: Based at Pico Airport, Los Angeles. Service to San Francisco.
California Air Shuttle
1990: Oxnard CA. 1990: Ended ops.
California Airways
c.1990: no data.
California Arrow Airlines
California Central Airlines
1947: Charles & Edna Sherman dba California Central Airlines, Burbank CA. 1954: Ended ops. (cf: Air Transport Carriers)
California Eastern Airlines
1946: no data. Cargo. 1948: Sold to Slick Airways.
    = Douglas C-54.
California Hawaiian Airlines
c.1960: no data.
California Overseas
Calm Air International
19??: Manitoba and NWT Canada.
Cal-State Airlines
c.1967: Los Angeles, LAX American Airlines Terminal. Routes along California coast and interior.
    = Handley-Page Jetstream.
Calumet Air Service Canadian Air Transit
19??: — Canada. 1980: Merged as Air B C.
Canadian Airways
19??: no data.
Canadian-American Air Lines
1929: St Paul MN. 12/1929: Merged with Arrowhead Intl Airlines. c.1930: Schlee-Brock Corp, Winnepeg Canada.
Canadian Colonial Airways
1929: Montreal Canada. 1942: Reformed as Colonial Airlines. 1956: Absorbed by Eastern Airlines.
Canadian Pacific Airline SEE CP Air
Canada Regional Airlines
19??: Calgary Canada. Affiliations: Partenaire Canadien.
C & M Airlines
1979: Division of American Aviation, Inyokern CA. 1983: Acquired by Mojave Airlines. 1984: Reverted to C & M. 1985: Ended ops.
Cape Smythe Air
1975: Fel Air, Barrow AK. 19??: Acquired by Thomas Brower dba Cape Smythe Air.
Capital Airlines
1936: Pennsylvania Central Airlines (PCA), Pittsburgh PA. Apr 1948: Renamed Capital Airlines. June 1961: Acquired by United Airlines.
Capitol Airlines
1933: San Bruno CA. 1934: Ended ops.
    = 2 Lockheed Vegas.
Capitol Airlines
1966: Manhattan KS.
19??: no data. c.1985: ended ops.
Capitol Airways / Capitol Air
1946: Capitol International Airways, —. 1982: Renamed Capitol Air.
Capitol Speed Lines
1933: Sacramento CA.
Carco Air Service
1950: Albuquerque NM. Lightplane feeder service.
Cardiff and Peacock Airlines
c.1930: San Joaquin Valley CA.
Cargojet Canada Ltd
2/21/2002: Mississauga, Ontario (PCEO: Ajay Virmani). Intranational cargo service.
Carolina Commuter
c. 1988: no data. 1994: Merged with Mesa Airlines, which was renamed as CC Air in 1996.
Caribbean American Lines aka North Star Airlines
Cascade Airways
1969: no data. 1986: Ended ops.

Casino Express Airlines / Tahoe Air
c.1989: no data.
Catalina Airlines / Catalina Air Transport
1940: Catalina Air Transport, Long Beach CA. 1953: Avalon Air Transport. 1963: Catalina Airlines. 1969: Acquired by Golden West Airlines.
Catalina Channel Airlines / Catalina Seaplanes
1958: Long Beach CA. 1965: Name and base changed to Catalina Seaplanes, San Pedro CA.
Catskill Airways
1966: Oneonta NY. Relocated Utica NY? Acquired by Mohawk Airlines c.1988?
CCAir
1996: Charlotte NC. Merger with Mesa Airlines (qv).
Cedar Rapids Airways
c.1920: Cedar Rapids IA; no data. Stinson SM-1 [NC5684].
Centennial Airlines
1981: Laramie WY.
Cen-Tex Airlines
19??: Waco TX.
Central Airlines
c.1928: Wichita KS. 1929: Acquired by Braniff Airlines.
Central Airlines
1934: Ft Worth TX. 1936: Acquired by Pennsylvania Central Airlines. (Another Central Airlines 1949 or c.1961? Merge with Frontier 1967? Also see Braniff 1928 re: previous entry.)
Central Airlines
1949: Oklahoma City. Feeder airlines using Beech Bonanzas over 1,335 miles of routes in OK, KS, TX. Central and Mid-West (qv) were the first two to implement the CAB's 1949 experimental ruling permitting use of single-engine aircraft on feeder routes in VFR conditions "where the terrain is such that this type of operation can be safely conducted;" other limitations applied regarding load limits, maintenance, etc.
Central Air Transport
1978: Sioux Lookout, Ontario.
Central British Columbia Airlines SEE Pacific Western Airlines
Central New York Airways
c.1928: (pres: Warren E Eaton 1929-30).
Central Northern Airways SEE Transair
Central Vermont Airways
c.1931: Central Vermont Airways Inc jointly with Boston-Maine Airways Inc (both pres: Paul Collins, vp: Amelia Earhart). 1940: Merged with National Airways Inc/National Airlines to form Northeast Airlines.
Central Washington Air Service SEE Inter Citiair Express.
Century Pacific Lines
1931: Errett L Cord dba Century Pacific Lines, Glendale CA. 1932: Acquired by AVCO/American Airlines.
Chalk's International Air Line
1919: (Arthur Burns) Chalk's Air Line, Miami FL. 19??: Chalk's Intl Air Line. 1996: Became Pan Am Air Bridge. The oldest continuously operating US airline.
Challenge Air Cargo
c.1987: no data. Cargo.
Challenger Airlines
12/31/41: Summit Airways Inc (fdr: Charles W Hirsig II), Laramie WY. 1/7/47: Renamed Challenger Airlines Co. 1/9/47: Relocated at Salt Lake City UT. 7/10/47: Awarded Air Mail Route 74. 6/1/50: Acquired by Monarch Airlines and Arizona Airways.
Chaparral Airlines
1976: Abilene TX. 12/1/84: Became American Eagle, Dallas TX. 1990: Merged with Metroflight.
Chaplin Air Lines
1919: Syd Chaplin, Emory Rogers dba Chaplin Air Lines, Los Angeles CA.
    = First California scheduled airline, but with single destination, from Wilmington to Santa Catalina Island.
Charter One
1980: Charter One, Eastpointe MI. Charter service to Atlantic City, Las Vegas, and Bahamas. 1990: Scheduled service from Boston to Atlantic City. 5/29/92: Renamed Spirit Airlines.
Chautauqua Airlines
1953(?) or 1983: Joel & Gloria Hall dba Allegheny Commuter, Indianapolis IN. 1998: Purchased by Wexford Management. 1999: Merged with Trans World Airlines as Trans World Express. Affiliation: USA Airways Express.
Chesapeake & Potomac Airways
c.1985: no data.
Chicago Airways
1945 1949?: Helicopter Air Service, Chicago IL. 1956 1965?: Chicago Helicopter Airways. c.19??: Chicago Airways.
Chicago & Southern Air Lines
1934: Atlanta GA, on acquisition of Pacific Seaboard Airlines. 1953: Acquired by Delta Airlines.
Chicago & Southern Air Lines
1969: Peoria IL. 1971: Ended ops. Duplication of names with the previous entry came from Delta's failure to protect the name after their merger.
Chicago-Detroit Airways
1931: Chicago IL.
   = Two Lockheed Vegas.
Chicago Express Airlines
1993: Chicago-Midway IL; maintenance base at South Bend IN. c.1999: Acquired by ATA Connection, feeder service to 12 Midwestern cities.
    = Jetstream 31s, replaced by Saab 340Bs.
Christman Air System
1977: Pittsburgh PA.
Christofferson Air Ferry
1914: Silas Christofferson & Weldon B Cooke dba Christofferson Air Ferry, San Francisco CA. 1930: Air Ferries Ltd.
Circle Rainbow Air
c.1989:
Cirrus Air
19??: no data. c.1996: Acquired by Eastern Air Lines.
Classic Air
19??: no data. 1990: Ended ops.
Ford Super Universal (W T Larkins)
Cleland Catalina Airways
c.1950: Cook Cleland.
Coastal Air Freight also Coastal Air Lines?
c.1950: no data.
Coastal Airways
1975: no data. 1990: Ended ops.
Cochise Airlines
1971: Tucson AZ.
Colgan Airways
1971: Manassas VA. 1986: Acquired by Presidential Airways.
Colonial Air Transport
1926: New York NY. (CAM-1). 1930: Acquired by AVCO as American Airways.
Colonial Airlines
1942: Formed from Canadian Colonial Airways, —. (pres: Branch T Dykes 1956).
Colonial Western Airways
1927: New York NY. (CAM-20).
Colony Airlines
c.1970: no data.
Columbia Airlines
1935: Detroit MI.
Columbia Airways
1935: Bloomsburg PA.
Comair
1977: Cincinnati OH. 1984: Became part of Delta Connection.
Comet Airlines
Command Airways
1955: Poughkeepsie NY. 1986: Became part of American Eagle. 1991: Became Flagship Air.
Commercial Air Transport
c.1925: Everett WA. Served Seattle and Vancouver BC.
Commutair
Plattsburgh NY.
Commute Air
1967: Spokane WA. 1968: Ended ops.
Commuter Airlines
1964: Binghampton NY. 1980: Merged with Freedom Airlines.
Commuter Airlines of Chicago
1966: Chicago IL. 1970: Acquired by Hub Airlines.
Compass Airlines
9/x/07: Chantilly VA. Subsidiary formed by Northwest Airlines on their purchase of Independence Air's Operating Certificate on 3/10/06. Compass stemmed a contract dispute between Northwest and its pilots union, which limited the type of mid-sized jets available to the airline and their seat capacity. Since Northwest was unable to operate smaller aircraft as a way to avoid paying existing wage rates, Compass' operations were limited to flying 76-seat or less aircraft.
Con Air
c.1990: no data.
Conner Air Lines
Conquest Airlines
1988: Beaumont TX.
Conquest Sun Airlines
10/26/93: Orlando FL. 1994: Renamed AirTran Airways.
Consolidated Air Lines
c.1935: Alameda CA. Serviced Sacramento and Redding.
Consumers Airline
Continental Air Express
1927: Continental Air Lines Inc, Cleveland OH. Seen as separate function, Los Angeles CA 1928-1930, not connected to original Continental Air Lines.
Continental Air Lines
1934: (Walter T) Varney Air Transport, Los Angeles CA. 1937: Reorganized as Continental Air Lines. 1955: Acquired Pioneer Air Lines. 1968: Began all-jet service. 19??: Acquired Air Micronesia. 1981: Merger agreement with Western Airlines begun. 1982: Acquired by Texas Air Corp dba Texas International Airlines retaining Continental name. 1982: Acquired Eastern Airlines, then dissolved it. 11/20/98: Merged with Northwest Airlines as an "alliance."
    = Subsidiaries (data: 1980): Air Micronesia, Continental Aircraft Hotels, Continental Aircraft Services, Mutual Computer Services.
Continental Airways
1931: Chicago IL. 1932: Ended ops.
    = Two Lockheed Orions.
Continental Express
19??: Houston TX. Afflilation: Continental Airlines.
Cordova Airlines
19??: (pres: Merle K Smith 1955) Anchorage AK. 1968: Aquired by Alaska Airlines.
Corporate Air
c.1994: no data.
CP Air
1942: Canadian Pacific RR dba Canadian Pacific Airline, on acquisition of ten bush operations, Vancouver BC. 1968: Renamed CP Air. 1985: Acquired Nordair.
Crescent Airways
c.1992: Crescent Airways Inc, —.
Cromwell Air Lines
1929: (Carl G) Cromwell-Hunt Aero Services dba Cromwell Airlines Inc, San Angelo TX. Focus on West TX oil companies, with service to Ft Worth and Dallas. 1932: Ended ops.
    = 2 Lockheed Vegas and 2 Stinson Detroiters.
Crown Airlines
1978: Texico NM.
Crown Airways
1969: Falls Creek PA. 1972: Became a contractor for Allegheny Commuter System. 19??: Acquired by Brockway Air, but aircraft operated as Allegheny Commuters in their colors on behalf of US Air. 1989: Transferred the US Air franchise to Trans World Express.
Crystal Airways
Was scheduled for 2001: Tampa FL. No data.
Cumberland Airways
1965: Cumberland MD.
Currey Air Transport
Curtiss Metropolitan Company
1923-1924: no data.
Dallas Express
c.1994: no data.
Davis Airlines
1930: Atlanta and Birmingham GA.
DC Airlines
2000: Spin-off from merger of United Airlines and US Airways as a black-owned and -operated operation.
Delta Air Lines
1924: C E Woolman dba Huff-Daland Dusters Inc, Monroe LA. 1928: Delta Air Service, New Orleans LA. 1929: First passenger service. 1930: Suspended ops. 1934: Reformed and renamed Delta Air Lines. 1953: Acquired Chicago & Southern Air Lines. 1972: Acquired Northeast Airlines. 1987: Acquired Western Airlines.
Delta Air Service
c.1930: Birmingham AL.
Desert Sun Airlines
1983: Long Beach CA. Connected Blythe and Riverside, later Palmdale and Inyokern.
   = Piper PA-31 Navajos and Piper T-1040s.
Des Moines Airways
1931: F C Anderson & Elbert Clayton dba Des Moines Airways, Des Moines IA, on acquisition of Mid-West Airways.
 
Detroit-Chicago Air Line
c.1920: Detroit MI.
Detroit-Cleveland Air Line
c.1928: Detroit & Cleveland Navigation Co, Detroit MI (pres: A A Schantz). Affiliation, if any, with the previous is unknown. Reported purchase from Germany of 2 Dornier Superwal seaplanes "with American engines" for straight-line service faster than their rail line, which had to follow shoreline paths. (Aviation 8/27/28)
Devoe Airlines
1981: Miami FL.
DHL Airways / DHL Worldwide Express
c.1992: San Francisco CA, hub at Cincinnati OH.
Discovery Airways
c.19??: no data. 1991: Ended ops.
Dixie Flying Service
c.1927: Dixie Motor Coach Corp dba Dixie Flying Service Inc, Greensboro NC. 1929: Acquired as subsidiary of Southern Air Transport Inc/AVCO. 1931: Acquired by Ludington Air Lines.
Dolphin Airways
c.1979: FL. Intrastate charters.
Downeast Airlines
1968: Rockland ME. Acquired by Bar Harbor Airlines.
Downtown Airlines
c.1980: New York City. Scheduled hourly passenger and parcel service from Manhattan to Philadelphia, later also to Atlantic City, with float-equipped Piper Aztecs.
Drummond Island Air
19??: no data. 1989: Acquired Michigan Airways. 1991: Ended ops.
Eagle Air Lines
19??: Kansas City MO.
Eagle Canyon Airlines
c.1996: no data.
East Coast Airways
c.1988: no data.
East Coast Commuter
1963: East Coast Commuter Airline, Cambridge MA. 1970: Ended ops.
Eagle Commuter Airlines
1976: Brownwood TX. 1986: Ended ops.
 
Easter Airways
1921: (fdr: P Ewing Easter) Baltimore MD. Backed by some local businessmen with the idea of operating between Baltimore and Norfolk, plus other points along the coast, in an Aeromarine HS but there is no evidence that this was done. Reportedly folded by 1922.
Eastern Air Express
c.1929: Division of General Aero Corp of America, Providence RI and NYC.
Eastern Air Transport, Eastern Airlines
1927: (Harold J) Pitcairn Aviation (airmail), New Brunswick NJ. 1929: Sold air mail interests to North American Aviation Corp. 1930: Reorganized as Eastern Air Transport, Miami FL. 1934: Name change to Eastern Airlines. 19??: Acquired Ludington Airlines. 1937: Acquired Wedell-Williams Air Service. 1938: Incorporation as Eastern Airlines (pres: Edward V Rickenbacker). 1956: Acquired Colonial Airlines. 1967: Acquired Mackey Airways. 1973: Acquired Caribbean-Atlantic Airlines. 2/24/86: Acquired by Continental Airlines (Texas International) and dissolved. 1989: Eastern Airlines Shuttle acquired by Donald Trump as Trump Shuttle. 1991: Ended ops.
    = Pioneered shuttle services (NYC-WDC-Boston 1961).
Eastern Metro Express Airlines
1994: A subsidiary of Metro Airlines (Houston TX), Atlanta GA. In 1984 EAL & Metro signed a 10-year contract. Metro would establish a subsidiary operation around Atlanta called Eastern Metro Express and use EAL color schemes and codes. This was the first of what would become a standard in the commuter industry, code-sharing arrangements. Curiously, Metro also became the first American Eagle partner—the first commuter line to share codes with two major airlines. (Data: Robert Permeter).
Eastern Provincial Airways
1949: Newfoundland Sales & Service dba Eastern Provincial Airways (charters), St Johns Newfoundland (fdrs: Eric Blackwood, C A Crosbie). 1961: Scheduled flights to Greenland begun. 1963: Acquired Maritime Central Airways. 1982: Subsidiary Air Maritime. 1983: HQ ops moved to Gander. 1984: Merged with Canadian Pacific Air Lines.

I grew up on Greenland, and my introduction to aviation was thru EPA, who from 1958-65 set up and operated Greenlandair using PBY-5As and DHC-3 on contract to the Royal Greenlandic Trading Company (Danish government). EPA left Greenland in 1965 when Greenlandair introduced Sikorsky S-61 helicopters. (— Bjarne Jensen 10/5/01)
East Texas Airlines
1950: Longview TX. Lightplane feeder service using Beech Bonanzas.
Eastwind Airlines
1995: "The Bee Line," initially at Trenton NJ, later Greenboro/High Point NC (pres: Terry V Hallcom). 1999: Ended ops. Flew B737-200s and -700s.
Economy Airways aka Economy Aircoach
Edde Airlines
Eldorado Aviation
19??: Edmonton Alberta. 19??: Saskatoon Saskatchewan.
Eldred Air Line
c.1935: Dewey Eldred Flying Service Inc, Willoughby OH. Seaplane charter.
Ellis Airlines
195?: (fdr: R E Ellis) Ketchikan AK.
Embry-Riddle
c.1927: Embry-Riddle Co, Lunken Airport, Cincinnati OH (CAM-24).
   = Routes to Chicago and Indianapolis. (data 1927).
Emerald Air
1978. Austin TX. 1984: Bankruptcy, but still operated charter service. 1991: Became part of Braniff Intl.
Emery Worldwide Airlines
c.1978: Division of Purolator Courier Corp, Vandalia OH. Cargo.
Empire Airlines
19??: no data. 1944: Merged with Zimmerly Air Transport. 1946: Empire Airlines, Lewiston ID. 1952: Merged with West Coast Airlines.
Empire Airlines
1975: Utica NY (fdr/pres: Paul Quackenbush). 1984: Merged with Piedmont Airlines.
Enterprise Airlines
1988: Cincinnati OH. 1990: Ended ops.
ERA Classic Airlines
c.19??: ERA Helicopters aka Jet Alaska Inc, Anchorage AK. 1981: ERA Aviation Inc dba ERA Classic Airlines.
Essair
1939: no data. 1944: Merged with Pioneer Air Lines.
Eureka Aero
c.1978: Eureka CA. Serving CA cities. c.1979: Became Air Pacific.
Evergreen International Airlines SEE Johnson Airlines
Executive Airlines
1960: Boston MA. 1973: Ended ops.
Executive Airlines
19??: Carolina Puerto Rico. Affiliation: American Airlines.
Executive Airlines
1960: Boston MA. 1973: Ended ops.
Executive Air Transport Express Airlines One
1985: Memphis TN. Part of Northwest Airlink.
Family Airlines
c.1993: no data.
Federal Express, FedEx
1973: Memphis TN (fdr: Frederick W. Smith). Cargo. 1989: Acquired Tiger Intl. 1995: Acquired Evergreen Intl.
Federated Airlines
Finair Express
c.1985: Subcontract carrier for Air Florida Commuter.
Fine Air Services
1989: Miami FL (fdrs: J Frank & Barry H Fine). 19??: Merged with Arrow Air. Scheduled air cargo. Latin America and the Caribbean.
First Air
1946: (Russell) Bradley Air Services Ltd (flight training), Ottawa Canada. 1958: Bradley Charter. 197?: First Air, owned by Inuit tribe, Makivik Corp. Served Northern Canada and Polar regions. 1986: Jet operations began with a Boeing 727.
Fischer Brothers Aviation
1957: Galion OH. 19??: Became contract carrier for Allegheny Commuter System.
Flagship Airlines
c.1988: Command Airways, aka Nashville Eagle, Nashville YN, as part of American Eagle. 1991: Renamed Flagship Airlines.
Fleetwood Airlines / Fleetwood Airways Intl
Flight International
c.1984: no data.
Florida Airlines
1968: Sarasota FL. 1975: Merged with Air South. 1981: Ended ops, merged with Air South.
Florida Airmotive
c.1985: Subcontract carrier for Air Florida Commuter.
Florida Airways
1925-1927: no data; Stinson SB-1 [C3597].
Florida Express Airlines
c.1985: no data.
Florida Fresh Air Express
Florida Gulf Airlines
c.1993: Division of USAir?
Florida West Airlines
c.1985: no data.
Florida West Indies Airways
4/13/20: Key West FL. 1921: Acquired by Aeromarine Airways Inc.
Flying Tiger Line
1945: Sam Mosher & Robert Prescott dba National Skyway Freight Corp, Los Angeles CA. 1946: Flying Tiger Line (cargo only). 1980: Acquired Seaboard World cargo airlines. 1965: Jet operations began with Boeing 707s. 1989: Merged with Federal Express.
Ford Air Transporatation Service
4/13/1925: Henry & Edsel Ford/Ford Motor Co dba Ford Airways, Detroit MI. Private freight line, with some passenger service, from Detroit to Buffalo, Cleveland, and Chicago. 1930: Ended ops.
Four Star Air Cargo
c.1985: Virgin Islands.
Fort Worth Aerial Transportation
My father and a few other people in 1919 founded the Fort Worth (TX) Aerial Transportation Company, later the National Airplane Corp. They did not last 6 months, but I have newspaper ads and other documents to verify this operation ... as one of the first airlines in the US. (— Dave Pearson 6/7/02)
Freedom Airlines
1980: Cleveland OH. 1984: Ended ops.
Frontier Airlines
1950: Formed on acquisition of Monarch Airlines — included Arizona Airways and Challenger Airlines, Denver CO. 1967: Acquired Central Airlines. 1986: Operations ended with acquisition by Peoples Express.
Frontier Airlines
7/5/1994: Denver CO. Revival by executives from the original Frontier Airlines and backers, began operations with two Boeing 737s initially on midwestern routes. Routes expanded nationally and fleet increased to 25 737s and 4 Airbus A319s by the end of 2001.
Gemini Air Cargo
1995: (fdr: William Stockbridge), Dulles VA. Global contract freight using DC-10-30Fs and MD-11Fs.
Gemini Airlines
c.1975: Seattle WA; connected Tacoma, Olympia, Aberdeen.
Gem State Airlines
1978: Coeur d'Alene ID. 1979: Ended ops.
General Aero Corp of America SEE Eastern Air Express
General Airways SEE Western Air Express
Georgian Bay Airways
1946: Parry Sound Ontario. Charter.
Global International Airways
c.1983: no data.
Golden Gate Airlines
1980: Monterey CA (pres: Justin Colin). 1981: Merged with Swift Aire Lines.
Golden Airways
Golden North Airways
Golden Pacific Airlines
1969: San Francisco CA. 1973: Ended ops.
Golden Pacific Airlines
1981: Kingman AZ. 1989: Ended ops.
Golden State Airlines
c.1950: Burbank CA. The 135.2 certificate held by Ruby Morgan Mercer, wife of Dewight "Poddy" Mercer, who operated Mercer Airlines. Charter operations and Navy contracts for San Clemente and San Nicolas Islands. One DC-3 [N33644] and one BE-18 Tradewind [N7805C]. Ended ops c.1979. (Data: Chuck Ross 4/11/01)
Golden West Airlines
19??: Los Angeles CA. This Golden West had a small fleet of DHC-6 Twin Otters painted overall white with a broad blue stripe along the fuselage below the windows. At LAX they operated out of Terminal 4's ticketing building. Also used Hansa Jets on scheduled service to cities including Santa Barbara and Palm Springs. Unlike Twin Otters, the Hansa came equipped with a mini stewardess. When this Golden West went under, many Twin Otters and some employees were absorbed by the "new" Golden West. (Data: Jim Phillips 1/21/01)
Golden West Airlines
1968: Formed from merger of Aero Commuter, Cable Commuter, Catalina Airlines, and Skymark Airlines, Newport Beach CA. 1983: Ended ops. Golden West tried to acquire Los Angeles Airways, including the helicopters (helicopters were repainted in Golden West's red/white/black and gold paint scheme with Golden West logos/names). The helicopters operated between LAX, Disneyland, and a hotel in Orange County. Only the helicopters were operated and the DHC-6-300 Twin Otters acquired by LA Airways were never flown or operated by Golden West. The deal fell through, however, when the court denied the acquisition based on a monopoly ruling. (Data: Jim Phillips 10/1/02)
Gilpin Airlines
1930-1933: no data.
Gorst Air Transport
c.192?: Barnes & (Vern) Gorst, Lake Union, Seattle WA. c.1926: Gorst Air Transport. 1927: Acquired by Boeing Air Transport. Together with a couple of other regionals, they formed the basis for United Air Lines.
    = Connected Seattle and Bellingham.
    = Loening Commuter, Ryan M-1, and a Travel Air floatplane.
GP-Express Airlines
1986: Grand Island NE.
Grand Canyon Airlines
c.1930: Evolved from Scenic Airways.
Gray Goose Airlines
c.1930: Chicago IL; no data. Stinson SM-1 [NC1631]..
Great American Airways
1979: Reno NV. Began with one DC-9-15 [N1068T] flying casino flights for Carson City Nugget. Entered scheduled flights to Oakland, ending that service around the end of 1980. Acquired a second DC-9 in 1990 and, by the time they surrendered their certificate in the late 1990s, were operating three DC-9-15s and four MD-80s. In addition to Reno, aircraft were based at Wendover UT and Laughlin NV. Principal owner was L A Stephan (possibly through other corporate holdings). (Data: Chuck Ross 4/11/01)
Great Circle Airways
Greater Pacific Airways
c.1983: Los Angeles CA. 19??: Became Air LA.
Great Lakes Airlines
1961: London Ontario. 1981: Renamed as Air Ontario.
Great Lakes Airlines
1977: Spirit Lake Airways, Spirit Lake IA (fdrs: Ivan Simpson, Doug Voss). 1979: incorporated as Great Lakes Aviation Ltd dba Great Lakes Airlines. 1980: Moved ops to Spencer IA. 1988: Acquired Alliance Airlines. 1992: Contract with UAL to operate as United Express, Chicago IL. 8/x/95: Merged with Arizona Airways to form Arizona Airways Express for southwest ops. 1997: Ended Arizona Airways Express.
Great Lakes Aviation
19??: Cheyenne WY. Affiliation: United Airlines.
Great Northern Airlines
19??: Canada. 1972: Acquired by Trans North Air.
Great Western Airways
c.1928: — Canada.
Great Western Airlines
c.1975: Tulsa OK.
Greenbrier Airlines or Airways
19??: Greenbrier WV.
Green Hills Aviation
1978: Kirksville MO (charter). 1987: Ended ops.
Gulf Airways
Gulf & Western Airlines
Gulf Coast Airline
1923: New Orleans LA. c.1927: St Tammany Gulf Airlines. 1929: Acquired as subsidiary of Southern Air Transport Inc/AVCO. 1931: Merged with Johnson Airways.
Gulfstream International Airlines
c.1990: Dania FL.
Gull Air
1975: Hyannis MA. c.1985: Subcontract carrier for Air Florida Commuter. 1987: Ended ops.
Haida Airlines
19??: — Canada. 1980: Merged as Air B C.
Haines Airways
1986: Haines AK.
Hanford Tri-State Airlines
1930: Hanford Airlines (pres: A S Hanford Jr), Sioux City IA & Omaha NB. 1932: Hanford Tri-State Airlines, Kansas City MO, on acquisition of Rapid Airlines. 1938: Acquired by Mid-Continent Airlines.
Harbor Airlines
1971: Air Harbor Airlines, Oak Harbor WA. 1974: Became Harbor Airlines.
Hammond's Commuter Air Service
1979: Houma LA.
Harrison Airways
1960: Vancouver BC. 1976: Ended ops.
Havasu Airlines
1974: Lake Havasu City AZ.
Hawaiian Airlines / Hawaiian Air
1929: Inter-Island Steam Navigation Co dba Inter-Island Airways, Honolulu HI; cargo. 1941: Hawaiian Airlines. 19??: Name changed to Hawaiian Air. 1990: Route-sharing agreement with Northwest Airlines.
   = Initial aircraft were Sikorsky S-38s.
Hawaii Express
1982: Honolulu HI; fdr: Michael Hartley (SEE ALSO Air Hawaii). 1984: Ended ops.
Hawkair
c.2000: Hawkair Aviation Services Ltd, Terrace BC, Canada. Charter passenger and freight service to Vancouver, Prince Rupert, and other points. 2002: Scheduled opertions.
   = Initially Bristol 170 and Carvair, replaced by 3 DHC-8-100/200s.
Helicab c.1965: Los Angeles. Operated piston-engine, bright yellow Bell Rangers between LAX, downtown hotels, West Los Angeles and Hollywood during the '60s. Prominently shown in LAX publicity/educational videos of that time. (Data: Jim Phillips 2/13/01)
Hemisphere Air Transport
Henson Airlines
1931: Richard Henson dba FBO, Hagerstown MD (charter). 1962: Henson Aviation dba Henson Airlines; Hagerstown-WDC commuter flights. 1967: Contractor with Allegheny Airlines as the first Allegheny Commuter. 1983: Merged with Piedmont Airlines as Piedmont Commuter. Henson, who died in 2002 at age 92, used the money from his sale of the airline to establish a foundation that benefited non-profit organizations.
Heussler Air Service
1977: Buffalo NY. 1983: Ended ops.
Hiawatha Airways
Holiday Airlines
c.1969: Oakland CA. 1973: Ended ops.
Holiday Airlines
1970: Monticello NY. 1970: Ended ops.
Holiday Airlines
1979: Newark NJ. 1989: Ended ops.
Hooters Air
3/6/03: Hooters of America, Inc (airline CEO: Edward Warnecke), Orlando FL, on acquisition of Pace Airlines. Restaurateur Robert Brooks' pet project was pretty much male oriented, but it was a popular and profitable operation offering Club Class seating at reasonable prices. 4/17/06: Suspended ops because of the economy and a rash of devastating hurricanes, but reportedly with plans of revival at Columbus OH in 2008.
Horizon Air
1981: Horizon Air Industries Inc, Seattle WA. 19??: Merged with Air Oregon. 1981: Acquired by Alaska Air. 1983: Acquired Transwestern Airlines.
Horizon Airways
19??: became Air Missouri.
Houston Metro
19??: no data.
Hub Airlines
19??: no data.
 
Hughes Airwest
1968: Air West formed from merger of Bonanza Air Lines, Pacific Airlines, and West Coast Airlines. 3/x/70: Summa Corp dba (Howard) Hughes Airwest, San Francisco CA. 10/13/80: Became Republic Airlines.
    = Hughes Airwest was created as a corporation without giving a majority of the shares directly to Hughes personally. Hughes Air Corporation's name became Hughes Airwest in July 1970 and, almost overnight, 50 cities from Mexico to Canada appeared in the timetable, along with more than 70 727s, DC-9s, and Fairchild FH-227s. When Hughes died in 1975, the ongoing legal process over the takeover of the airline finally ended in 1979.

After that last date, we operated as "one" carrier, but in reality the FAA certificate was not merged for another two years. For that period, the former Hughes Air West (RW) was legally "Republic West Airlines, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Republic Airlines, Inc (RC)." We used two different computer systems. RW flights were booked in a partition of EA/CO's SystemOne, and the RC flights were booked in the Escort system. The seemingly "seamless" service for passengers was hardly seamless for us in Reservations. (— Terry Drew Karanen 6/19/02)
Ilford Riverton Airways
c.19??: Winnipeg Manitoba.
Imperial Airlines
1964: Visco Flying Service (cropdusting) dba Imperial Airlines, Carlsbad CA. c.1982: Ended ops. Provided service to San Diego. After deregulation it was purchased by three investors headed by Jim Harmon. Acquired twin Cessna, Embraer E-110, then Shorts 360. (Data: Chuck Ross 4/11/01)
Imperial Palace Airlines
c.1990: (Las Vegas casino shuttle?)
Independence Air
11/19/03: Renamed from Atlantic Coast Airlines. 1/5/06: Ended ops; Operating Certificate bought by Northwest Airlines on 3/10/06 to form Compass Airlines.
Independence Air Transport
c.1930: Kansas; no data. Stinson SM-1 [NC7127].
Independent Air
c.1988: no data.
Indigo Airlines
Aug 2000: Teterboro NJ. Charter, also scheduled service to Chicago.
    = Dassault Falcon 20s.
Inland Air Lines
1938: Renamed from Wyoming Air Service, Casper WY. 1941: Acquired by Western Airlines.
Inland Empire Airlines
c.1981: Enoch Packing Co dba Inland Empire Airlines, Fresno CA. 1982: Acquired by Air Chaparral, but when that company lost contracts and went out of business, IAE reverted as independent operator, leasing what aircraft were available. Sep 1983: Ended ops in bankruptcy. .
Inter Citiair Express
July 1929: Felts Field, Spokane WA (pres: T V Arnreiter). Linked to Mamer Air Service.
    = Served Washington points with Stinson Detroiter and Lockheed Vega. Possible branch, also part of Mamer, was 1930s Central Washington Air Service, connected Yakima and Wenatchee.
Intercontinental Air Transport
Interior Airways SEE MarkAir
Inter-Island Airways
1928: Honolulu HI. 1941: Reorganized as Hawaiian Airlines.
International Airlines
c.1950: no data.
International Airways
1928: Minot ND. 1931: Ended ops.
    = Lockheed Vega.
International Cargo Express
c.1993: no data.
Interstate Air Lines
1928: Martinez CA (fdrs: E Alfonso, Robert Peebles, James B Oliver); no data. (Western Flying 1/28)
Interstate Air Lines
1930: Chicago IL (CAM 30). (AVCO-American?)
Interstate Transit Lines
1928: Omaha NB (pres: R J Walsh, mgr: T J Manning); scheduled flights "between Omaha and other points" with 3 Ryan Broughams. (Aviation 8/4/28).
Irving Airways
1936: Juneau AK. Likely is Alaska Air Transport.
Island Air Ferries
Island Airlines
1929: Port Clinton OH.
    = Currently features Ford Tri-Motors, as well as more modern equipment.
Island Helicopter Lines
c.1984: Honolulu?
JamAir
c.19??: no data. 1982: Became Sunbelt Airlines.
Jazz Air
c.1994: no data.
Jet Alaska SEE ERA
Jet America
c.1983: Long Beach CA. 1986: Acquired by Alaska Air.
Jet Aspen
c.1995: Aspen CO.
JetBlue Airways
2/11/00: New York NY (CEO: David Neeleman). Initial route to Ft Lauderdale FL, expanded to 25 US cities using 56 Airbus A320s, with Embraer 190s scheduled for mid-2005.
Jet East
c.1985: no data.
Jet Express
1988: aka Trans World Express, Newport News VA.
Jetstream International Airlines
1980: Latrobe PA. 1985: Became part of Piedmont Commuter System. 1995: Route merger with Chautauqua Airlines.
Jet 24 Charter Service
c.1983: no data.
Johnson Airlines
c.1963: Johnson Flying Service dba Johnson Airlines. 1975: Became Evergreen Intl Airlines, McMinnville OR. Cargo.
Johnson Airways
19??: no data. 1931: Merged with Gulf Coast Airline.
Jordan Intl Airlines
Kaiser Air
c.1986: no data.
Kalitta Air
19??: no data.
Kansas City Southern Skyways
Kenn Borek Air
1966: Vic Turner Ltd, Dawson Creek BC. 1971 Merged with Borek Construction Co as Kenn Borek Air.
Key Air International
c.1985: Subcontract carrier for Air Florida Commuter. 1993: Ended ops.
Kitty Hawk Airways, AirCargo
1978: Dallas TX. 1978: Ended passenger ops. c.1990: Kitty Hawk Inc dba Kitty Hawk Air Cargo, Dallas. Cargo. Kitty Hawk Airways, a Part 135 operation, was shut down around 1990. However, Kitty Hawk Inc, their holding company, took over the certificates of Skyfreighters and General Aviation (Greenville TN) and ran Kitty Hawk Aircargo as a 121 cargo carrier. Kitty Hawk Inc, Kitty Hawk Aircargo (airline), and Kitty Hawk Cargo (cargo hub network) survived the 2000 bankruptcy, but filed for bankruptcy again in Oct 2007 and ceased operations in Jan 2008. (Data: Robert Grimm 4/28/08)
Kiwi International Airlines
c.1992: no data.
Knowles Air-Ways
c.1933: (Theodore E) Knowles Flight Service dba Knowles Air-Ways, Flint MI. Charter and sightseeing. Operations ended after Ford 4-AT-E crashed 5/18/35, killing Knowles and two passengers. A Knowles Air Lines was registered and, assumably, operating shortly after WW2. No data found.
Kodiak Airways / Kodiak Western Alaska Airways
19??: Kodiak AK. 1973: Merged with Western Alaska Airlines as Kodiak Western Alaska Airways.
Kohler Aviation
8/30/29: (John B & Frank) Kohler Aviation Corp, Grand Rapids MI. Nov 1929: Route sold to Northwest Airlines, but Kohler continued operations under a contract with NWA. 1934: Bankruptcy when President F D Roosevelt cancelled all civil air mail contracts. 6/x/34: Assets acquired by Pennsylvania Airlines.
    = Terminals also at Milwaukee and Muskegon, later adding Detroit and Lansing. Connection to New York with Michigan Central RR.
    = 4 yellow-black-red Loening amphibians, 1930-32. Ford Tri-Motors, c.1932. An enviable safety record of no serious mishaps.
Labrador Airways
1971: Goose Bay Newfoundland. A spin-off from Eastern Provincial Aiways' "bush" operations. 19??: Renamed Air Labrador.
Douglas DC-3
Lake Central Airlines
1950: Formed on acquisition of (Roscoe) Turner Air Services. 1968: Acquired by Allegheny Airlines.
Lakeland Airlines
1980: Rice Lake WI. 1984: Ended ops.
Laker Airways
19??: (fdr: Fred Laker).
Laredo Air
1988: Laredo TX. 1989: Ended ops.
Las Vegas Airlines
1973: Las Vegas NV. 1987: Ended ops.
Legend Airlines
Apr 2000: Dallas TX. Mar 2001: Ended ops.
Leisure Air
c.1993: no data.
L'Express
1989: New Orleans LA. 1992: Ended ops.
Livery Airways SEE Alaska Airlines
Lion Airways
c.1920: Islip NY; no data. Stinson SB-1 [NC432M].
 Metro 23
Lone Star Airlines
c.1994: no data.
Long Island Airlines
1985: East Hampton NY. 1990: Ended ops.
Los Angeles Air Service
1948: Kirk Kerkorian dba Los Angeles Air Service, Los Angeles CA. 1960: Trans-International Airlines. 1962: Sold to Studebaker Corp. 1964: Repurchased by Kerkorian. 1968: Acquired by Transamerica. 1976: Acquired Saturn Airways, Oakland. 1979: Transamerica Airlines.
Los Angeles Airways
194?: Clarence Belinn dba Los Angeles Airways, Los Angeles CA. 1944: Incorporation. 1947: First helicopter flights. 1971: Sold to Golden West Airlines. Golden West and Air California were both owned by the same people, and Los Angeles Airways was to have been acquired by Golden West—we flew LAA S-61s complete with Golden West paint scheme for a while on the LAX-Disneyland- Fullerton-Orange County route. The deal to take on LAA fell through, however, because the owners not only already had the majority in commuter traffic on those routes, they also owned the taxi cab (Yellow Cab) and airport bus (Airport Transit), and an air cargo business. (Data: Jim Phillips 1/21/01)
Los Angeles Helicopterc.1970: Los Angeles. Routes between LAX and local hotels from a small terminal building shared with charter aircraft.
    = Sikorsky S-55.
Lucerne Airways
1931: San Francisco Bay Airdrome, Alameda CA.
    = Resort service to Lake County CA.
Ludington Air Lines
1922: Ludington Exhibition Co (fdrs: Charles Townsend Ludington & Wallace Kellett), Pine Valley NJ. c.1926: Ludington Philadelphia Flying Service Inc, Philadelphia PA. 1929: Ludington Line passenger service. 1931: Acquired Dixie Flying Service Inc. 19??: Sold to Eastern Air Transport.
Mac-Aire
1962: Ronkonkoma NY. 1968: Ended ops.
MacKenzie Air
1975: La Ronge Aviation dba MacKenzie Air, Edmonton Alberta.
Mackey Airways
1957: (fdr: Joseph C Mackey) Ft Lauderdale FL. 1968: Acquired by Eastern Air Lines, also separately as Mackey International. 1981: Ended ops.
McCulloch International Airlines
19??: Vance International Airline. 1970: Became McCulloch International Airlines.
Maddux Air Lines
1927: (John L) Maddux Air Lines, Rogers Airport, Los Angeles CA. 1929: Merged with Western Air Express as Transcontinental & Western Air (TAT-Maddux, then TWA).
Mahalo Air
c.1992: Roberts Hawaiian Tour Co dba Mahalo Air, — HI.
Maine Air
1982: Bangor ME. 1983: Ended ops.
Maine Air Transport
1931: (pres: William H Wincapaw), Curtiss-Wright Airport, Rockland ME.
Maine States Airways
19??: Augusta ME. 1931: Reorganized.
Malibu SeaAero
c.1947: Malibu (c.Vancouver coast) BC (fdr: Thomas F Hamilton*). Connected Hamilton's resort to nearby cities using a surplus Grumman Goose. (*Fdr of Hamilton-Standard propellers and Hamilton Metalplane aircraft.).
Mall Airways
1973: Albany NY. 1989: Acquired by Business Express.
Mamer Air Transport
1929: (Nick B) Mamer Air Transport, Felts Field, Spokane WA. 193?: Miles City MT. 1932: Ended ops.
Marco Island Airways
1972: Deltona Corp dba Marco Island Airways, Marco Island FL. c.1985: Subcontract carrier for Air Florida Commuter.
Maritime Central Airways
1941: Josiah Anderson & Carl Burke, Moncton, New Brunswick; standard passenger, cargo, and charter flights throughout the Maritimes, Newfoundland, Labrador. 1957: Acquired Nordair as subsidiary (Montreal). 1963: Acquired by Eastern Provincial Airways.
MarkAir
1947: Interior Airways (pres: James Magoffin), Fairbanks AK. 19??: Alaska Intl Airlines. 1984: MarkAir Inc. 1995: Ended ops.
Marquette Airlines
1938: no data. 1945 1940?: Acquired by TWA.
Martz Air Lines
c.1930: (Frank) Martz Air Lines, subsidiary of Martz Coach Co, Wilkes-Barre PA & Newark NJ. 1937: Purchased by American Airline for the Buffalo, Newark, and Wilkes-Barre routes. Operated two Bellancas. (Data: Robert Naugle 2/5/03)
Mason & Dixon Air Line
6/19/29-1/x/31: Cincinnati OH. Founded 6/19/29. Julius Fleischmann and Powel Crosley Jr were principal investors. Both were on the board of directors of Metal Aircraft Corp and Crosley had just organized Crosley Aircraft Co. Using Metal Aircraft's Flamingo planes, provided regular service from Cincinnati to Detroit via Dayton, with plans to serve most of southeastern US and to offer connexions to most of Canada, Central and South America, and the Caribbean, but none of that came about. In Sept 1929 the airline and Metal Aircraft Corp were sold to Robert Schryver of Columbus OH. (Data: Michael Banks 7/16/04)
Mayflower Airlines
1937: no data. 1944: Acquired by Northeast Airlines.
McClain Airlines
c.1987: no data.
McCulloch International Airlines
1970: Reorganized from Vance International Airline.
McGhee Airways
c.1930: Alaska; no data. Stinson SB-1 [NC404M, NC448H]
Mercer Airlines
c.1970: (Poddy) Mercer Enterprises dba Western Flying Services, also embodied Airplane Charter by Mercer. 19??: Became Pacific American Airlines.
Mercury Air Lines
1919: Cecil B DeMille dba Mercury Aviation Co and Mercury Air Lines, DeMille Field, West Los Angeles CA. 1921: Discontinued ops, sold assets to Rogers Airport Corp.
    = Likely the world's first scheduled airline with multiple destinations (5 months before Dutch KLM inauguration), used Junkers-Larsen JL-6. Routes to Santa Catalina Island, San Diego, and San Francisco.
    = More than 25,000 passengers carried in transport, charter, and sightseeing flights during two-year operation without a single injury.
Mercury Airlines
c.1991: no data.
Mesa Airlines
1980: (fdr: Larry Risley), Albuquerque NM. 19??: Incorporated as Mesa Air Group. 1994: Acquired Carolina Commuter. 1996: CCAir. Affiliations: America West, US Airlines.
    = Operated as America West Express in the Southwest, US Airways Express throughout the East Coast and Midwest, independently as Mesa Airlines in NM and CO.
Mesaba Airlines
1944: Gordon Newstrom dba Mesaba Aviation Inc, Coleraine MN (flight instruction, charter). 1950: Moved ops to Grand Rapids MN. 1973: Assets sold to ??, scheduled flights begun. 1978: Acquired by Swenson family; Mesaba Airlines formed. 1983: Merged in partnership with Republic Airlines, Minneapolis MN. 1984: Parted with Republic and joined with Northwest Airlines in a code-sharing agreement as a Northwest Airlink. 1988: Became subsidiary through Northwest's shareholder holding group. 1988: Became subsidiary of Air Tran. 1995: Shareholder group reformed as Mesaba Holdings Inc.
Meteor Air Transport
c.1947: (fdr: Robert Morrow) no data found.
    = Curtiss-Wright C-46F.
Metro Airlines
1966: NASA Commuter Airlines, Houston TX. 1984: Name changed to Metro Airlines on signing with Eastern Air Lines (qv).
Metro International
c.1981: Subsidiary of Flying Tigers (charter), New York NY.
    = Linked European cities.
Metroflight
c.1989: Metroflight div of American Eagle. 1992: Became Simmons Airlines.
Metrojet
19??-2001: USAirways' budget subsidiary. No data.
Mexican Central Airways
1931: Phoenix AZ.
MGM Grand Air
c.1987: no data. Las Vegas service.
Miami Air International
c.1995: no data.
Michigan Airways
1982: Pellston MI. 1989: Acquired by Drummond Island Air.
Michigan Air Express
Jan 1930: Jack Byrne dba Michigan Air Express, Grand Rapids MI.
Michigan Central Airways
c.1946: Detroit MI. Essentially a route authorization obtained after WW2 by (Roscoe) Turner Aviation, who also acquired the route that became Lake Central Airlines. To keep the route it had to be flown (periodically) and by an airline, hence the name MCA. It was flown one year by a surplus Cessna UC-78, one year by a Stinson Reliant, and one year by Stinson 108-3 [NC6264M]. The routes were sold about 1948 to Capital Airlines who flew them with DC-3s and -4s out of Detroit. Some of the routes were only flown in the summer. MCA airplanes had no logo on them—they flew the routes weekly with generic ships. (Data: David Carpenter 1/23/01).
Mid-Atlantic Freight
c.1990: —. Cargo.
Midcontinent Air Express SEE Western Air Express
Mid-Continent Airlines
1938: Kansas City MO (pres: Thomas F Ryan III), on acquisition of Hanford Tri-State Airlines. 1952: Acquired by Braniff Intl Airways.
Mid-Continent Air Transport
1924: (Blaine M) Tuxhorn Flying School & Mid-Continent Air Transport (reportedly the origin of Ozark Airlines), Kansas City KS. Connected Omaha and Little Rock AR.
Middle States Air Lines
1929: Akron OH. 1931: Ended ops.
    = 2 Lockheed Vegas.
Mid-Eastern Airways
c.1987: no data.
Midland Air Express
1931: (pres: W E Wethee), Kansas City MO. Routes to Cheyenne WY and Sioux Falls SD. c.1932: Assets sold to Air Express Corp.
    = 2 Lockheed Vegas.
Mid Pacific Air
1981: Honolulu HI. 1988: Ended ops.
Mid-Pacific Air
1986: Burbank CA, but operated from Honolulu HI. 1986: Ended ops. SAME AS PREVIOUS?
Mid-South Airlines
1975: Resort Commuter Airlines, Raliegh NC. 19??: Name changed to Mid-South Airlines.
Mid-South Airways
c.1927: Memphis TN.
    = Connection to Chicago.
Mid-State Airlines
1964: Marshfield WI. 19??: Acquired by Sentry Airlines.
Midway Airlines
c.1980: Chicago IL. 1991: Ended ops.
Midway Commuter Airlines
c.1988: no data.
Mid-West Airlines
1949: Des Moines IA (pres: F C Anderson). Feeder service to 32 towns over 1,239 miles of routes in MN, IA, NB, SD using four-passenger Cessna 190s. Likely a continuation or subsidiary of Mid-West Airways (below)—info needed. Mid-West and Central (qv) were the first two to implement the CAB's 1949 experimental ruling permitting use of single-engine aircraft on feeder routes in VFR conditions "where the terrain is such that this type of operation can be safely conducted;" other limitations applied regarding load limits, maintenance, etc.
Mid-West Airways
192?: Mid-West Airways Corp, Des Moines IA. 1931: Reorganized as Des Moines Airways.
Midwest Airlines
19??: — Canada. 1969: Acquired my Transair.
Midwest Express Airlines
1969: K-C Aviation, subsidiary of Kimberly-Clark Corp, Appleton WI. 1984: Midwest Express Airlines, Milwaukee WI. 1984: Acquired assets of Air Florida. 1989: Formed subsidiary Skyway Airlines in partnership with Mesa Airlines. 1994: Second operational base at Omaha NB.
Millardair
19??: Toronto Ontario. Cargo, charter.
Mission Airlines
1982: El Cajon CA. 1982: Ended ops.
Mississippi Valley Airlines
1969: Moline IL. 1985: Merged with Air Wisconsin.
 
Missouri Pacific Lines
c.1930: no data found.
Model Airline
1927: Established as an experiment by the Guggenheim Fund and Western Air Express, —. c.1931: Absorbed by Western Air Express?
Modern Air Transport
1946: New York NY (charter). 1966: Acquired by Gulf American Land Corp to relocate at Miami FL. 1972: Operations moved to Berlin Germany.
Modern Airway Transport
c.1930: Blue Island IL. Stinsopn SM-1 Spl [NC3647].
Mohawk Airlines
8/23/52: Name change from Robinson Airlines. 1959: Utica NY (fdr: Robert Peach Sr). 1972: Acquired by Allegheny Airlines.
Mohawk Airlines
1989: Syracuse NY?
. This Mohawk was a resurrection and probably only lasted two years or so. I don't know what happened to it. It may have been acquired by USAir or another airlines, or went bankrupt. (Data: Paul Sweeney 10/20/01)
Monarch Airlines
1945: Denver CO. 1949: Acquired Challenger Airlines. 6/1/50: Acquired Arizona Airlines.
Montgomery Air Service
c.1928: Montgomery School of Aeroautics, Mobile AL. Serviced Pensacola, Atlanta, and Jackson MS.
 
Morris Air
1992: (June) Morris Air Service Corp dba Morris Air, Salt Lake City UT. 1993 (?>1995): Acquired by Southwest Airlines.
    = Morris ran a travel bureau in SLC and, although she had no license of her own, flights for tours she organized to Hawaii, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Mexico were undertaken by various other airlines—Ryan Intl, American Trans Air, and Sierra Pacific all flew these routes regularly for her. In 1992, with up to 300 charter flights a week, a license became hers. Eleven leased Boeing 737-300s provided a significant route network and, a year later, another ten 737s were added. The amazing rise led to an offer from Southwest of $130 million.
Mountain Air Cargo
c.1992: no data.
Mountain Air Express
c.1997: no data. 1998: Acquired by Air Wisconsin/United Express.
Mountain West Airlines
1979: Boise ID. 1991: Ended ops.
Munz Northern Airline
1965: Nome AK. 1983: Acquired by Ryan Air.
Muse Air
1981: Lamar & Michael Muse dba Muse Air, —. 1985: Became part of Southwest (Airlines?). 1986: Renamed TranStar Airlines. 1987: Ended ops.
Mutual Air Lines
192?: Mutual Aircraft Corp, Rogers Airport, Los Angeles CA.
    = Routes to Fresno, Merced, Oakland, San Jose.
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